Rampage Pivot-Point Weekend

The San Antonio Rampage left behind a December they hope to soon forget.

The team can’t win on the road — the worst AHL record away from home and the worst record, percentage-wise, in the league, but have a schedule-stretch more to their liking coming up.

The Rampage will play 10 of their next 12 games on home ice, and won’t board a plane until February. The two road games are in Oklahoma City and Cedar Park.

The Rampage have won 8 of their last 11 in San Antonio, with one of the setbacks in a shootout, so the Jekyll and Hyde nature of this team has got to be driving coach Tom Rowe nuts. Even in a rare December win — one of two during the month — Rowe was dismayed at his team’s lack of effort.

For some unknown reason, the team has consistently shown an inability to win on foreign ice. The record speaks for itself at 3-13-0-2, being outscored 61-35. The home mark of 9-5-0-1 isn’t much to write home about, but the team has outscored opponents 48-42 at the AT&T Center.

Well, there are some reasons the team can’t handle road adversity. Saturday’s 5-2 meltdown in Cedar Park is Exhibit A. Up 2-1 and playing well, the team saw the wheels fall off the train in a matter on minutes, allowing the Stars to score four goals in the final quarter of the second period.

Three power play goals allowed, for the fifth time this season, is simply unacceptable. Think of that stat! That means your offense needs to score at minimum four goals to win games like that. And since this team has shown an inability to score goals, only twice scoring four goals in the last 15 games.

The penalty kill was a source of pride during the first two months of the season. It has been so generous over the past month, the PK has fallen into the mid-20’s in the league from a top-five unit in November.

The power play is a mess. The team is completely at ease about passing the puck around the perimeter, rarely challenging the opponent’s PK unit before an errant pass is intercepted and cleared down the ice.

They’ve scored ONE power play goal in their last 27 tries. It’s trite, but it may be better for the Rampage to DECLINE the penalty than foist that PP on everyone.

In many instances, teams killing the penalty have had more scoring opportunities than the Rampage with the extra man.

When watching the Texas Stars power play, which the Rampage PK helped look like hall of famers, you saw a unit that knew how to operate. There was no look of confusion. Each player had his spot on the ice. The puck was zipped around the zone. The points were manned by power play quarterbacks who knew where the puck was going before they got the disc on their stick. It was mesmerizing. Impressive. The best unit in the AHL.

Knowing you’re playing the team with the best power play in the league should have sent a message to the Rampage players, eh?

DON’T GO TO THE PENALTY BOX!

They didn’t get the memo.

The Stars were 3 of 9 Saturday night. So the PK was actually somewhat successful there — but you give the best PP in the league NINE chances? You are asking for it. In that second period bonzai attack Saturday, two of the four goals were on the power play AFTER 5 on 5 goals were scored. The Stars would not be denied.

Stars M-I-A

Another issue is the “passengers” situation — the sequel.

Last year, during the team’s 11-game losing streak at the end of the season, then Rampage coach Chuck Weber, labeled some players “passengers” — just showing up and riding the bus, so-to-speak, while the game was on, rather than engaging and doing anything on the ice to help the team win.

Welcome to the Nightmare on Houston Street, Take 2.

There are nine players on the roster who played significant minutes in the NHL last season, considering the reduced games played in the major league because of the lockout.

On paper, the Rampage should be competing. Most nights in this stretch of games (3-10-0-2), San Antonio appears disinterested in offense, or defense, depending on whomever is in the crease to make plays to keep them in the game.

Not a great system.

But there’s hope.

This weekend should tell Rampage fans if this team will make a run.

The Oklahoma City Barons are in almost as worse shape as the Rampage.

Both teams have the worst winning percentages in the league.

The Barons were up on the Stars 5-1 at home Thursday night, only to see Texas roar from behind to win in overtime, 6-5. How does that happen?

It helped that only 3804 fans bothered to show up to watch the game. Talking with players, fan support makes a huge difference, and it makes a huge difference at the CPC where the Stars absolutely own the Rampage. San Antonio has won only six of 27 games there.

How Bad Is Bad?

The Barons are 21st in scoring goals and next to last in allowing them. That last stat, despite having Richard Bachman, former NHLer with Dallas, in net. He’s whizzing along at a 4-9-2 clip and 3.15 goals against. One issue for the Rampage going into this home-and-home series, is that Bachman has been lights out against San Antonio, since he shut out the Rampage in his AHL debut three years ago.

The Rampage aren’t much better than the Barons. San Antonio is 24th in scoring goals in the 30 team league, while 25th in goals allowed.

The special teams are misnamed. They aren’t special. The Rampage penalty killers and power players are at least consistent — they are both 26th in the league. The Barons power play is 13th, but the penalty kill is 24th.

Both teams have winning records against each other this season, as the Rampage are 4-3 with two shootout wins, while the Barons are 3-2-0-2 against SA.

The last 10 games, the Barons are 2-5-1-2. The Rampage 2-7-0-1.

It’s not going to be pretty this weekend. But someone is going to win hockey games.

If it’s the Rampage — and they can pull out both games — then we may see some life emerge and hope.

If this losing continues, however, and the Rampage drop both games, to sink to 12-20-0-3, then it will be a tough sell to find a winning formula.